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Not just Saturday against the Penguins, or even Sunday when the rivals play again in Pittsburgh.

The stretch of 12 games, all of which are against opponents who have more points than they do in the standings, will decide whether or not the Flyers get into the playoffs.

Seventeen games in total remain on the Flyers' regular season schedule. They'll need a lot of those to be wins if they want a shot at the postseason, but there's no fear of burning out by the time the playoffs actually come.

"I think it's actually a better situation," Wayne Simmonds said. "Some of the teams you see the last couple years going to the playoffs that had to pretty much run the table and get the majority of their wins the last 20 games, those teams go far because they have that going. They have the camaraderie going. They've been playing playoff hockey for longer than a lot of the top teams have. I actually think that has some sort of advantage."

There's precedent for that line of thought. The Flyers needed a shootout in Game 82 to make the playoffs four years ago and got to within a game of winning the Stanley Cup.

The next season, the Los Angeles Kings limped into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and won the whole thing. Their opponents in the finals, the New Jersey Devils, were the No. 6 seed.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing," Simmonds said. "It's gonna test us, but it's gonna be awesome at the same time."

For the Flyers, it's kind of second nature. They insisted last season that if it were a full 82-game schedule instead of a lockout-shortened 48, they may have made the playoffs. They found similar early struggles this year.

"There was a good opportunity last year, but the season ended," coach Craig Berube said. "We've been doing this all year since I took over, and guys have rose to the challenge. I expect them to do it again."

So is it better to sneak into the playoffs?

"That's looking a little too far ahead," Berube said. "I said we want to be playing meaningful games in March, and we are. If we keep doing the things that we are and you get in the playoffs, anything can happen."

Home away from home

For whatever reason, there's no home-ice advantage between the Flyers and Penguins. The Flyers have a 7-1-1 record in Pittsburgh since the Consol Energy Center opened. Since 2008, the Flyers are only 4-9-2 against the Pens at home.

"I don't know," Zac Rinaldo said. "I think maybe we just hate each other so much that we want to play so much better in their arena and they want to play so much better in our arena. It's just one of those things trying to outdo the other team in their own barn."